Texas Standard

Weekdays, 10 a.m.

From fascinating innovations that reshape technology to shifting demographics that transform the nation, from political leaders to pop culture icons – what happens in Texas drives the American narrative. So why let New York, Washington and Los Angeles shape our sense of the world?

Texas Standard is setting a new bar for broadcast news coverage, offering crisp, up-to-the-moment coverage of politics, lifestyle and culture, the environment, technology and innovation, and business and the economy – from a Texas perspective – and uncovering stories as they happen and spotting the trends that will shape tomorrow’s headlines.

The one-hour daily news magazine is grounded in the best traditions of American journalism: fact-based, independent and politically neutral reporting. In an era in which news outlets, politics and citizens are increasingly polarized, Texas Standard offers critical breadth, variety and integrity.

Hosted by award-winning journalist David Brown, Texas Standard features interviews with researchers, innovators, business leaders, political thinkers and experts – across Texas and around the globe – that reflect a diversity of opinions.

Texas Standard is produced in the state capital in collaboration with KUT Austin, KERA North Texas, Houston Public Media and Texas Public Radio San Antonio, as well as news organizations across Texas, Mexico and the United States.

Construction is a booming business in Texas. The latest numbers from 2016 show it’s a $75 billion industry in the state. There’s more demand for construction workers than there are people willing to do the jobs, and that means it’s gotten hard for contractors like Denis Phocas to hold onto qualified workers.

As everyone in the Panhandle knows, it’s wildfire season. Just southeast of Amarillo in Armstrong County, a blaze called the Mallard Fire has consumed over 75,000 acres. It’s mostly contained now, but last Friday, the flames were so out of control that they even affected the weather.

Arnold Darby, a 69-year-old inmate at Huntsville's Goree Unit, speaks with the Texas Standard about his craft as a bootmaker. While in prison, he has made boots for people all across the state, including politicians and athletes.

President Donald Trump has brought or threatened tariffs against many U.S. trading partners in an effort to bring them to the negotiating table. China threatened back, promising to bring tariffs against many U.S. imports. That trade battle may seem far away, but it is making a lot of farmers in Texas nervous.